Ski Reviews

2021-2022 Dynastar M-Free 108, 182 cm

Reviewer Username: leojtonozzi

Reviewer Height: 5’10”

Reviewer Weight: 175 lbs

Reviewer Experience Level: Expert

DAYS USED: 35 days

TEST LOCATIONS: Aspen, Bridger Bowl, Big Sky

PERFORMANCE RATINGS

(0 = Terrible, 5 = Okay, 10 = Outstanding)

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 6/10

FORGIVENESS: 7/10

MANEUVERABILITY (How Loose / Easy to Pivot & Smear?): 8/10

MANEUVERABILITY (How Quick / Low is the Swing Weight?): 4/10

STABILITY: 6/10

SUSPENSION: 6/10

EDGE HOLD: 5/10

PLAYFULNESS: 6/10

PLAYFULNESS (Open Ended):

The only playfulness present is derived from the looseness of the ski, there is very little pop or energy out of carves.

SKI LENGTH: It felt just right (182 cm length tested)

THIS SKI’S IDEAL TERRAIN: Softer moguls | Fairly steep off-piste terrain

THIS SKI’S IDEAL SNOW CONDITIONS: Softer, but not deep snow | Untracked powder (shallow) | Firm, off-piste chop or crud

WHAT TYPE(S) OF SKIER DO YOU IMAGINE WILL GET ALONG BEST WITH THIS SKI?

I think that an expert-advanced skier who wants to ski a wider ski on a daily basis would enjoy this ski. This ski could suit a wide range of skier stances (centered-fairly forward). Someone looking for a very damp ski without a kick-your-butt flex profile would enjoy it.

ARE THERE SIMILAR PRODUCTS YOU’VE SKIED THAT YOU CLEARLY PREFER? IF SO, WHY?

I prefer the Kartel 108 for stability and float in powder and chop/ skied powder.

PLEASE ELABORATE ON ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SAY ABOUT THIS SKI. FEEL FREE TO GO INTO DETAIL!

This ski has good damping characteristics and is able to mute out the harshest and grossest snow I was able to ski in a single Colorado season.
The stability in deep chop is surprisingly poor and the tips have a tendency to dive in untracked powder. These negative traits make me feel as though the weight/width isn’t really “worth it” to drag around for a long day. There are easier skis to ski that have better float in powder and other similarly heavy skis are better in chop. The perplexing part of this skis performance in chop is that it seemed to punish more aggressive skiing. The harder I pushed the ski the more nervous the front of the ski felt. This gave it a feeling like you were liable to get thrown “over the bars” frequently when skiing hard on a powder day.

I think the use case here is someone who wants a very damp ski that excels in a wide variety of snow conditions from soft to nearly frozen, provided you intend to ski more challenging conditions with a slashy/slarvy style rather than carving. Powder days of 8+ inches might have you experiencing the issues I had with tip-dive and getting knocked around.